The End of All Things
by BestroScare
Summary: "mom (noun - adjective - verb) - One who does whatever it takes to get whatever it is done." Tessa Harm was a lot of things in life, but her greatest moment was when she became a mother. Now that the dead have started walking, she will do whatever it takes to keep her child safe. [Daryl/OC]
1. prologue

_Prologue_

_..._

A groan echoed through the room as sirens blared outside disturbing the sleep of its sole inhabitant, a woman barely into her thirties who went by the name of Tessa Harm.

"Momma."

Tessa, who had cocooned herself in blankets, peered out from her shelter of colorful fabric, looking at the young child who stood at the foot of her bed in his little blue feetie pajamas. It took her a moment to break out of her sleep induced stupor to realize that it was indeed her child standing there.

"Baby, what're you doin' up?" With a bit of struggle due to the massive amount of sheets restricting her, she sat up, rubbing at her bleary eyes before looking over at the alarm clock on the nightstand.

"Door." The little boy uttered and when he received a confused look from his mother, he repeated himself and then pointed in the direction of the front door of their tiny apartment which was settled above the bakery that she owned. "Knock, knock." Almost as if that was the cue word, there was a loud bang on the door which caused the woman to jump up in shock.

"Dakota, stay here." She told her son who watched as she threw on her robe and made her way across the hall and down a flight of stairs to the front door but not before grabbing the baseball bat that was leaning against the wall beside her bedroom door.

Just as she was going to lean in to look through the peephole, her door jolted as something on the other side bashed against it making her take a step back in fright. She waited a moment before gathering her courage once more and took a peek through, letting out a gasp when she saw a pale face staring back.

The person looked dead.

That was the best description she could possibly think of. Just dead; no color to his eyes, a pallid complexion as if there was no blood running underneath the surface of his skin, and there was the cringe worthy way that he let out an inhuman sounding grunt before knocking himself into the door.

More sirens sounded in the distance and she stepped back from the door, double checking that the locks were secure as she walked backwards slowly, not taking her eyes off the door, only stopping to flinch when the thing outside assaulted her door once more.

When she felt the back of her ankle hit the first step, she turned to dash up the stairs and ran into her kitchen, grabbing the phone off the hook immediately dialing 911.

"911, what's your emergency?" A woman's voice answered after a few rings.

Trying to gather her breath as well as her wits, Tessa calmly said. "There's someone outside my door. They've repeatedly run into it and I don't know if they're trying to break in or not…"

She must've sounded more frantic than she thought because the woman on the other line attempted to ease her worries. "Don't worry, ma'am. Have you locked your door and any other entrance to your home?"

She scurried around her house, checking to make sure that every window was shut and locked before answering. "Yes, nothing is open."

"Ma'am, I'm afraid I can't send a unit out right away, we've had quite the number of calls tonight, but just tell me your address so I can double check it and I'll send one as soon as they're available." Her home address slipped out of her mouth automatically and she hung by the window of her kitchen as she heard the operator tapping away at a keyboard. "If you would like, ma'am, I can stay on the line with you until an officer has arrived."

When another bang resounded from her front door, she nearly dropped the phone, but then a scream erupted from the streets below and she just about jumped out of her skin as the phone clattered to the ground and her son came rushing into the kitchen shouting frantically for his mother.

Tessa scooped him up in her arms and held her to him as she peered out the blinds of her window, the air in her lungs seemed to disappear as she watched a woman being attacked by another person, one who had the same dead look as the thing that was at her door. The sound of her screams seemed to attract a few more of the creatures and there was a whole group of them around her in a matter of seconds, ripping her apart.

Dakota whimpered in her arms and he tightened his arms around her neck. She paced back and forth, the phone forgotten on the floor, and she made her way into the living room, switching on the TV which was already set to the local news channel.

_"We urge everyone to stay indoors at this time and avoid any contact with those who seem to be experiencing any of the following symptoms: headaches, fever, stomachaches, hallucinations…"_

She stood there and watched as the screen displayed several incidences within the last couple of hours where a person, who was supposedly dead, came back to life and started to attack those around them.

"How did it get this bad…" She mumbled as she flicked off the television, her stomach in knots.

Thinking back to the past couple of days, there had been several news reports about an unknown virus running rampant in a few foreign countries and even a few cases had been reported here but they were all called '_isolated incidents_', '_nothing to worry about_', '_it'll be contained_'…

What was going on just outside of her home was anything but '_contained_' and despite the news anchor's warnings to stay inside, she wanted to do anything but that. With a firm nod of her head she decided on her course of action and set her son down, instructing him not to go anywhere before she ran around her apartment packing whatever she thought they might need.

Within twenty minutes she had a large suitcase packed with clothes for her and Dakota as well as an extra pair of shoes each and bathroom essentials. Anything that she couldn't fit in the suitcase went into an old canvas backpack and all of the things that Dakota might need went into a little backpack of his own.

She raced to get herself and Dakota dressed, reassuring Dakota that everything was fine as she put on his tiny sneakers.

"Dakota, sweetheart, listen to mommy…" She cupped his chubby cheeks in her hands and stared into his watery green eyes that reflect her own. "Mommy will be right back, all right? I need to go put the suitcase in the car and then I'll be right back for you. I don't want you to go anywhere."

He looked confused, but otherwise didn't make a peep as his mother lugged the suitcase to the living room window of their apartment which led to a fire escape that dropped her directly down into the alleyway where her car was.

She double checked everything and sent one last look to her son who stood there clenching at the straps of his backpack. "I'll be right back." She repeated before heaving the window open and making her way down the fire escape, trying to make as little noise as possible.

There were none of the creatures in the alleyway and with a bit of struggle, she managed to get both herself and the suitcase to her car without attracting any attention. She hoisted the suitcase into the trunk of her car and closed the trunk as gently as possible.

As she was making her way back up the fire escape, her heart leapt into her throat when she heard the distraught cry of her son. She couldn't get up the fire escape fast enough and when she made it back into her apartment she saw that the thing that had been at her front door had managed to make it into her home and now cornered her son who was crying out for her.

"Dakota!"

A strength came from within her that she didn't even realize she had and she couldn't even remember hitting the creature in the head. She seemed to have simply blinked and she was standing in the middle of her living room with the wooden bat in her hand, bloodied and splintering. The creature remained as a crumpled mess on her floor, its head caved in and no signs of it getting up again.

Dakota was clinging to her leg and crying, his small body convulsing as he struggled to breathe. She dropped the bat and picked him up, muttering soothing words into his ear to calm him down, knowing that she didn't have much time.

Those things would make their way here with all the noise and she may have managed to take out one, but she was sure that she wouldn't be as lucky if there were more. "We gotta go, baby." She told him.

His sobs were muffled by the fabric of her sweatshirt and he clenched at her arms, not knowing if she was going to put him down or not, but refusing to let her if she were.

With her bag secured to her back and her son in her arms, she made her way down the fire escape again already hearing the inhuman groans as they converged towards her.

Dakota didn't struggle when she put him in his car seat as he normally would and her hands shook making it difficult for her to buckle him in regardless. When it finally clicked into place, she leaned in and kissed his forehead before rounding the car to the driver's side.

She nearly froze in place when she saw a few staggering towards her at the entrance of the alley, but was quick to shake herself from the trance. She locked the doors as soon as she got in and buckled up. She peered in her rearview at her son who was desperately trying to calm himself down and then focused behind him where a few more were coming from the back of the alley.

Her car sputtered to a start as she turned the key in the ignition and with a small prayer she floored it, not caring that her car acquired a few more dents when she clipped two of the creatures.

"M-momma." Dakota hiccuped in the back and she was hasty to pacify him with gentle words.

"It's all right." She told him as she sped down the street. "We're okay, Dakota."

She didn't know where she was heading, but once Dakota had fallen asleep she turned on the radio which was nothing but safety advisories.

_"A safe-zone is being set up in Atlanta…_"

She twisted the tuner as the audio fell to static and grew frustrated when she couldn't regain the signal. "All right…" She muttered to herself. "Atlanta it is."

* * *

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** here and I'm collaborating with bestroreedus88 on this story!**

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	2. amidst the flames

_ This is the Emergency Alert System … We urge residents to seek shelter and stay away from those who have been infected. Symptoms of infection include … fever, headache, stomachache, dizziness, hemorrhaging..._

* * *

A young man had stopped her on the way to Atlanta. He was walking along the shoulder of the road and when he saw Tessa weaving her car in and out of the abandoned ones on the highway, he started to flag her down. She didn't want to stop, but when he flung himself in front of her car she didn't have much of a choice.

He tried to ward her off from going into the city, claiming that he had just escaped from one of the refuge camps that they had set up. "Please, you have to listen to me!" he had begged. Tessa wanted to ignore his pleas. She wanted to drive right on by him and continue towards Atlanta. She wanted to, but the fear that was present in his eyes was so real and even though she wanted to, she couldn't disregard it.

"Don't make me regret this."

He beamed and then looked unsure when she offered to give him a ride to wherever it is that he was going. "I could be a murderer for all you know." he remarked, but got into her passenger's seat regardless.

Tessa looked over at the boy's face and saw nothing that could ever be misconstrued as malicious. "Well, are you?" asked Tessa lightheartedly as she shifted her car into drive.

"No." he finally stated and Tessa laughed at him. "I'm Glenn, Glenn Rhee." He held out his hand and she took in her own, giving him a solid handshake.

"Tessa Harm." she introduced herself and then nodded back towards her sleeping child, "That's my son, Dakota." The child hadn't stirred since he fell asleep some odd hours ago. "Where ya headin'?"

Glenn pulled out a map from his backpack, unfolding and then refolding the large piece of paper in every which way before he stopped and showed her a spot on the map that he had circled. "There's a quarry that's not too far from here." he explained. "We'd have to hop off of this road and get onto the interstate to get to it, but it shouldn't take more than an hour as long as we don't run into any roadblocks."

"You think it's safe up there?" she questioned.

"It's far enough away from the city and pretty isolated, plenty of water." said Glenn, his eyes wide and full of hope.

She put her car in drive, "All right, then."

* * *

The drive was pleasant. Light conversation drifted back and forth between Tessa and Glenn as they got to know one another. Tessa learned that Glenn had been a pizza delivery boy before this entire mess occurred. It was also the reason that he had safely made it out of the city; spending day in and day out navigating through the city meant he knew all of the routes in the city which meant he knew the exact way to make it out.

He told her of what the refuge camp was like, how it seemed like they found a safe haven only to have that crushed when the military started to "decontaminate" the area. Tessa didn't ask, but she had a very clear idea of what that meant. Glenn, along with a few others from the camp, managed to make it out of the city thanks to Glenn's navigational skills although he was separated from them once they got out of the city.

"What's your story?" he asked.

Tessa's brows furrowed and she wondered what exactly her story was. The entire ordeal at her apartment ran through her head and she thought of Dakota sitting in the backseat still sleeping and of the six hour drive she had just made and the only thing that popped out of her mouth was, "I'm a baker."

"Yeah?" Glenn questioned.

Tessa nodded, "I own a bakery… owned…" she trailed off. That sentence caused her heart to clench as the realization that perhaps she did not have a home to go back to seeped in.

Glenn, as if sensing her deflated mood, commented, "Man, I could really go for some good cannolis, right now."

"You and me both."

* * *

It wasn't until a half an hour later that they made it to the interstate and as Glenn kept his eyes peeled out for anything that might be a threat to their wellbeing, Tessa tried to snake through the traffic snarl.

"Hey, hey!" Glenn shouted suddenly nearly making Tessa swerve into a nearby car. "Slow down!"

"What is it?" she asked as she glanced into the rearview mirror where she saw her son beginning to stir in his carseat and when her eyes returned forward she spotted people standing amongst the abandoned cars, "Who's that?"

Glenn's face lit up when he spotted familiar faces; faces he did not expect to see ever again. "Those are the people from the refugee camp." he explained.

She questioned him, "Friendly?"

He nodded before saying, "They're good people."

Tessa pulled her car closer to the group of people who looked on with both interest and caution, but their heedfulness melted away when they saw Glenn get out of the car. Tessa, too, got out of the car but didn't approach the group until she took a half-asleep Dakota out of his carseat. Trailing behind Glenn carefully, she watched as a stocky, dark-haired man approached him.

"Glenn," There was relief on his face, "… we didn't think we'd see ya again."

He looked over to Tessa who was clutching her son to her and Glenn took the opportunity to introduce her to the group, "This is Tessa Harm," he said, "… and her son, Dakota."

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am." The stocky man stated as he took the hand she offered him, "Shane Walsh."

Tessa examined the man from head to toe. Clean-cut, firm, slightly arrogant… the man's entire disposition reminded her of her ex-husband and while she wasn't too fond of her ex-husband it did mean one thing, "Cop?" she questioned.

Shane's eyebrow rose in surprise, "How'd ya figure?"

She gave him a playful wink, "I know a cop when I see one."

Shane smiled at the little woman and ushered her towards the group, introducing her to a slender woman and her freckled son, "This is Lori and Carl."

"It's nice to meet you." Lori said, "He yours?" She gestured to Dakota who was now staring tiredly at all of the strange, new people around him.

Tessa gave a nod, "Yup, this is Dakota." A warm smile appeared on Lori's face when she saw Dakota snuggle further into Tessa upon his realization that the attention was now on him.

Introductions went around the small group which consisted of an older man, Dale, who was accompanied by two younger blondes — sisters, Andrea and Amy. A nervous looking woman, Carol, let Shane introduce her and her husband and daughter, Ed and Sophia. There was another woman, Miranda, with her two children, Louis and Eliza, and an older black woman who introduced herself as Jacqui.

"Where're the others?" Glenn questioned when he saw that a few members of the group were messing.

"Jim, T-Dog, and Morales went up ahead to scout the area before we move on." Shane told him. "They should be back soon enough." There was a pause. "Where were you guys headin', anyway?"

Glenn answered, "There's a quarry a few miles down the road..." he indicated, "...You guys are welcome to join us."

A thoughtful look donned Shane's face as he thought about the offer, "We'll see once we scout out the area whether or not it's safe enough for the group."

There was a sound coming from the distance that drew Tessa's attention above them. Shane seemed to have heard it too because his eyes were on sky and when he saw the faint outline of helicopters in the distance he ordered everyone to hide.

Tessa, though confused, allowed Glenn to pull her to a nearby car where they hid from the view of the helicopters as they passed over.

"What's going on?" she inquired.

Glenn looked unsure, "I don't know."

Dakota was trying to peek out from Tessa's shoulder, his eyes catching Glenn's. Glenn smiled at the child who buried his face back into his mother's shoulder shyly.

"You think we're clear?" Tessa questioned when she could no longer hear the helicopters.

Glenn looked around outside and spotted Shane along with Lori and Carl climbing out of a car, "I think so."

Carefully, the pair got out of the car gazing towards the skyline of the city where the helicopters were heading. It was nearing sundown and the silhouette of the helicopters against the outline of the city skyline looked picturesque.

"What is going on?" Jacqui asked aloud.

Then the sky lit up with fire and smoke as a loud bang resounded through the air. Everyone jolted in shock, the children crying out and clenching onto their mothers. Dakota seemed especially scared with his eyes full of tears and Tessa whispered into his ears soothing words trying to comfort his tiny whimpers.

Everyone seemed too shocked to even move as they just watched the fires from the city. A strange ethereal glow emitting as the sun disappeared behind the buildings' skyline.

It took Tessa while to register that had it not been for Glenn, her and Dakota would be amidst those flames, likely lost to the world, "Thank you." she whispered to the young man next to her who didn't say anything in return, he just placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

* * *

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